ABSTRACT
This chapter uses a selection of accounting history research to demonstrate the mercantilism-accounting interface under Bullionism, cameralism, Le colbertisme, and Commercialism. Nevertheless, a presentism tendency exists in seeking parallels with modern management and practice, especially as the study proceeds ambitiously to examine the evolution of cameralism accounting of the current era. The research also illustrates that the Guide, through its development of case studies and examples of actual accounting methods, provides insights into the strategic nature of the social and economic milieu in which commercial success might be achieved. Mercantilism, in various guises, weaves itself through the fabric of accounting historiography. While an oversimplification, this four-fold classification reinforces the notion that mercantilism was a static concept, but rather a complex system of theory, policies and practices transmitted and translated variously across time and space. Forrester offsets limited use of primary sources by a rich application of secondary materials.
